Welcome to the
Department of Language & Intercultural Studies
School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Dear students, colleagues, and collaborators,

I welcome you to the Department of Language and Intercultural Studies at the University of Thessaly, a space dedicated to knowledge, creativity, and innovation. Our mission is to cultivate academic excellence, encourage critical thinking, and support the personal and professional development of every member of our community.

Your participation and ideas are an integral part of the progress of our Department. We strive to create an environment where every student, faculty member, and administrative staff member feels they belong, contribute, and grow.

In this context, I invite you to take advantage of every opportunity our Department offers, so that together we can create the framework for personal and mutual development.

The Head of the department

Professor Ioannis Galantomos

Establishment & Goal Setting

The Department of Language & Intercultural Studies was founded by Law 4589/2019 (Government Gazette 13 / 29.01.2019, vol. A ‘) and admitted its first students in the academic year 2019-20, in the city of Volos. The Department is temporarily housed in Deligiorgi building (27th Glavani and 28th October Str.) covering a total area of 1,800.00 sq.m., which is located in the center of Volos, until the construction of the new building facilities in the area of the “Vamvakourgia” industrial property in the area of Nea Ionia (Volos) is completed.

The Department provides specialization in a dynamic interdisplinary field of knowledge emerging from the restructuring of humanities and mostly of language and cultural studies within the contemporary globalized context of creation, production and communication of knowledge and information. The Department responds to the challenges which arise in the contemporary field of intercultural and transnational communication and intercultural relationships. These challenges concern the internal cohesion and composition of Western societies, transnational working and production environments as well as the growing need for multilevel communication with geographical regions, linguistic  and cultural contexts outside the western world. In the current international context, language and intercultural education in Greece are of high priority based on the strategic geopolitical planning of the country and its future prospects. Education in languages of the Middle East and Far East is more urgent nowadays than ever.

The Department of Language and Intercultural Studies comes to address this need by providing a programme of studies which promotes applied language studies and combines language and cultural education and transnational studies with an in-depth focus on issues of comparative history and literature,  intercultural communication, critical theory, studies of diversity, theories of globalization and global systems, intercultural education and work in transnational environments. The Department combines  contemporary scientific subjects with excellent prospects in research and the labor market for its graduates. The demand for professionals who have knowledge of languages ​​and cultures, especially of the Middle and Far East, is expected to be high and constant in fields such as tourism, trade, interpretation, transnational contacts, research, scientific cooperation, etc. The Department of Language & Intercultural Studies will create multiple synergies by utilizing the existing infrastructure of the Departments of the School of Humanities & Social Sciences of the University of Thessaly, especially the laboratories concerned with interculturalism and pedagogical applications of language education.

Our department aims to address this need by offering a curriculum that promotes applied language studies and combines linguistic and cultural education with international studies, while also focusing on issues of comparative history and literature, intercultural communication, critical theory, studies of otherness, globalization theories, global systems, intercultural education, and working in transnational environments. The department integrates contemporary fields of study with excellent prospects in research and the job market for graduates. The demand for professionals with knowledge of languages and cultures, particularly those of the Middle and Far East, is expected to be high and sustained in sectors such as tourism, trade, interpretation, international relations, research, scientific cooperation, etc. The Department of Political Science and International Relations  will create multiplier synergies by utilizing the existing infrastructure of the Departments of the School of Humanities, particularly the laboratories focused on interculturality and the pedagogical applications of language education.

Organization and Administration

Ιnformation on the organisational and administrative functions and operations of the Department.

Committees

Detailed presentation of the department’s committees

Other Information

See the current academic calendar, the quality assurance policy, and the registry of internal and external examiners of the department